At least Anne appeared to be the furthest from a tough, scary vampire. She was petite and seemed like a tiny child standing next to Demetri. Her ice blonde hair was pulled back in a braid that reached the middle of her back, a neatly trimmed fringe covering her forehead. Her emerald green eyes were lined with thick black eyelashes that Cordelia thought could be the result of excellent mascara but when she got closer, she realized it was all natural. She wore a pair of khakis and a crisp white blouse, her entire look straight out of a L.L. Bean catalogue.
She moved around the sofa to give Cordelia a visual once over. “How are you feeling? Any dizziness, nausea or pain?”
“Uh, I feel okay, I guess,” Cordelia replied, eyeing Anne as she grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. “No real pain but I’ve felt a couple twinges where I was stabbed.”
Anne nodded, letting go of her wrist. “That’s to be expected. It takes longer for a mortal wound to heal. It should be gone by tomorrow. You’ll need to feed soon. We gave you bagged blood when you first got here but straight from the source is best.”
“Which leads into the perfect time for introductions with Olivia and Marcus,” Mary said, gesturing to the other two in the room. “They are the Datores Sanguis in the clan.”
Olivia was wearing a tasteful black pantsuit that Cordelia was pretty sure was from Chanel. She wore her hair short and the chestnut curls set off her olive complexion. She looked to be in her mid-fifties, with just the barest trace of crow’s feet and laugh lines. Her almond shaped eyes were an unremarkable brown and Cordelia noticed a few age spots on her hands.
She’s still human, an unknown instinct told her. As she studied Marcus, that same instinct instantly pegged him as human too. He was considerably younger than Olivia, somewhere in his twenties, so he didn’t have wrinkles but she could see the tell tale signs. He had shaved his dark hair close to the scalp and she could see a scar near the crown of his head. He also had a few chicken pox scars on his cheek and his blue eyes did not shine like her own.
“I don’t know what Datores Sanguis means,” Cordelia replied.
“It’s just a fancy way of saying blood donor,” Olivia said with a wave of her hand. “When any of the clan needs blood, our job is to provide it.”
“Why would you do that?” Cordelia blurted out without thinking and her cheeks heated up with embarrassment. She couldn’t have made the question sound more insulting even if she tried. Thankfully, no one seemed insulted and, in fact, Olivia even laughed.
“There are many benefits for us,” Olivia explained. “Being fed from slows the natural aging process in humans. You’d never guess I just had my ninetieth birthday and Marcus is almost sixty.”
Cordelia could feel her eyes bug out but she couldn’t help it. There was no way to look that young, not even with the best plastic surgeons in the world.
“So how are you adjusting to finding out that you’ve joined the fang brigade?” Marcus piped up and the women all glared at him, probably because it was written all over her face exactly how she was adjusting.
“I’m doing better than I would expect, not that I’ve ever expected to be in this kind of situation. It’s not one of the standard fantasies you tend to have in your spare time. Like you think what would I do if I won the lottery or what would I do if got superpowers. I’ve never really thought what would I do if I woke up as a Shadow Walker surrounded by strangers.”
Well now, that was an unexpected burst of word vomit. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her and she wasn’t thinking before she spoke. She sounded pretty ungrateful considering that being here with strangers was much preferable to being dead.
“You’ve all been really nice though,” she added, wanting to give them some kind of compliment.
“What? Just because we’re dead, you expect us to be horrible monsters?” Demetri asked, his burly arms crossing over his broad chest.
“No, that’s not what I meant at all, I’m sorry,” Cordelia said, panic seizing her at the thought she had offended him. “It’s just that everything you hear about vampires…er…Shadow Walkers is that they are evil.”
“Evil, yeah?” Demetri shook his head in disappointment. “I can’t believe you are such a bigot. Why would Nicky bring a vampirist into the family?”
Mary stalked over to Demetri, hauled back and punched him hard in the shoulder. He squawked in pain before laughing as he rubbed his shoulder.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because you are being an asshole,” Mary said angrily before turning back to her and smiling reassuringly. “Ignore him, he’s just taking the piss because he doesn’t know how to not be a complete idiot.”
Demetri snorted with indignation. “Hey, I’m smarter than you.”
“The only way that would be true is if I suffered an irreversible brain injury.”
“We can only pray for that to happen. It might fix what is wrong with your personality.”
“You need to learn to show some respect to your elders, boy-o.”
“All saying that does is remind everyone that compared to me, you’re an old hag.”
Olivia clapped her hands loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Children! No one wants to listen to you bicker. Just ignore them Cordelia, they have had years to perfect the art of sibling rivalry. Now is there anything I can get you? Something to drink or eat?”
The last thing she needed was food in her belly. Her nerves had gone past jittery and hit vibrating-at-supersonic-levels and a ball of anxiety had taken up residence in her stomach.
“N-no, I’m f-fine,” she said and winced at the quiver in her voice.
“Well shit,” Demetri cursed. “Cordelia I’m sorry. Mary is right, I am an asshole. I was just joking around but I forgot you don’t know me or what a dick I can be. You can smack me around if you want.”
“I’d take him up on the offer. Trust me, you are going to want to do it a lot so you might as well get some practice in,” Mary advised.
Demetri nodded. “You should listen to her; she’s an expert on smacking me around. She’s been doing it for over three hundred years.”
Cordelia’s eyes widened at that. “Three hundred years? How old are you?”
“I was born a peasant so no one in my human family was keeping track of the exact date. Best guess is sometime during the 1670s.”
Cordelia felt her knees bobble at that. “What about the rest of you?”
Before the others could answer, Demetri piped up. “Anne was born lower class like me so the best guess is around 1500. Mary is our princess though so we know her exact birthday.”
Mary flipped Demetri off and he returned the gesture in kind before continuing.
“Her daddy was King Edward III so her birth was recorded. She was born in 1344. By the way, remind me to show you her Wikipedia page. It has a picture of a statue of her. She looks like a total tool.”
Cordelia barely registered anything after 1344. She was too busy trying to wrap her brain around the idea that the people that looked like they were her age were actually several centuries older. She had thought that discovering that Shadow Walkers existed would be the most startling thing she would come across today but apparently not.
“I think I need to sit down,” she whispered just before her knees gave out. Mary and Anne were immediately at her side and caught her before she hit the ground. They guided her to the sofa and when she was seated, Anne pressed on the back of her neck, guiding her head down between her knees.
“Take a few deep breaths,” she instructed. Cordelia did as she instructed, ignoring all the thoughts rushing through her brain and focusing on her breathing. A wet cloth was soon pressed against the back of her neck and the coolness helped steady her.
After a few minutes she felt much better and straightened herself up to see that everyone was watching her with worried expressions.
“Sorry,” she said, flashing them a sheepish smile. “I think things were moving a bit too fast for me. It got a bit overwhelm
ing.”
Anne smiled and squeezed her hand in reassurance. “No need to apologize. Your reaction is perfectly normal considering everything that has happened. You are still adjusting and we should have known better than to dump all of this on you at once.”
“Oh thank god!” Mary blurted out. “Nicky is home. He’ll make this all okay Cordelia, I promise.”
The rest of the group turned towards the door with expectant looks and Cordelia did the same, wondering how Mary had known Nicky had arrived. She hadn’t heard any sound to indicate someone else had arrived. Though considering the vast size of the house, an army could probably invade without anyone hearing it.
A moment later, a young man walked through the doors. He couldn’t be any more than sixteen, his face still holding the softness that hinted at a manhood that was on the horizon. He had a sharp aristocratic nose and his chin was a strong square but his cheeks and jawline still held the smallest trace of baby fat. His lips were full with a deep cupid’s bow on the top lip to emphasize their fleshy pinkness. And then there were his eyes, two orbs of burnished gold.
She remembered him. There was no way that she would forget those eyes.
When she met his gaze, so many emotions began to churn up inside her. This boy was someone who meant more to her than anything in the world. A wave of gratitude overwhelmed her and she was doubled over as her body ached to the very marrow of her bones.
Her throat constricted as sobs bubbled up and tears began to fall. She didn’t know the reason why but she could not deny that she was indebted to this boy.
As if she was on autopilot, she rose from the couch, lurched forward a few steps and dropped to her knees at his feet. Her conscious mind was too caught up in the overwhelming emotions to stop her from pressing her face against his feet.
Never in her life had she ever bowed at anyone’s feet but now it felt like the most natural thing to do. And it still wasn’t enough. There was no possible gift that she could give to repay this boy for what he had given her. Not that she knew exactly what it was that he had given her but it was amazing. Especially since it had her getting her tears all over his brand new Nikes.
“Rise, my child.” She felt a pair of hands under her arms, pulling her up off the ground to stand. She tried her best to remain steady on her watery knees, keeping her eyes on the carpet that separated their feet. She couldn’t look at him, she was not worthy enough to look upon him, not after everything he had done for her.
“Cordelia, look at me, please.”
A finger under her chin forced her to meet his gaze. His beautiful eyes glowed with love and a wave of peacefulness passed over her as she gazed at him.
“You never have to bow before me. You are worthy enough to stand at my side.” His voice was melodic, an accent she couldn’t place but it turned his words into music. “And you need not repay me; I would never ask or accept it. Your love is enough.”
His hand reached up and stroked her cheek, his eyes warming with fondness as he watched her. She smiled in relief. She finally understood.
Father.
“Perhaps it would be best for Cordelia and I to have a moment to speak alone,” he said to the others before he took her hand in his own. “Come with me.”
The feel of her palm in his own was comforting. She would go anywhere he asked her because, with him, she felt at home.
Chapter 4
The room Nicky led her to was a large study on the main floor of the manor, tucked at the end of one of the winding corridors. Several chairs and lounges formed a semicircle that faced the focal point of the room, a large mahogany desk. The wall behind the desk was made up of floor-to-ceiling shelves. The shelves were filled with hundreds of objects ranging from clay pots and wood carvings to ornate daggers and the kind of marble busts you expected to see in a museum exhibit on Ancient Greece. The collection was huge and she could see that every piece was well taken care of, from the jewel encrusted Faberge egg to the tiny doll made from mismatched scraps of cloth.
While she was staring up at the collection, Nicky came to stand behind her. “These are all mementos of the important people I have met in my life. Each one has a story. I can tell them to you later if you’d like.”
She nodded her head. She would like that.
“Come sit with me. There is much I have to answer for,” he said, taking a seat on one of the lounges and she followed suit, finally drawing her eyes away from the room around her to focus on him.
He cleared his throat, as if he needed a moment to compose himself before speaking and she realized he was nervous.
“I’m sorry that this has been so difficult for you. I should have been there when you woke.”
The sadness on his face had her to rushing to reassure him. “I’m fine, really, it’s okay.”
“No it’s not. I am your sire; I should have been the first one you saw when you woke. I thought I would have more time before you came to but that isn’t a good enough excuse. It must have been distressing to wake up alone in a strange room.”
She didn’t want to upset him further but something inside her urged her to tell him the truth. She felt the need to be completely honest with this boy.
“I thought I was in a coma.”
“That is my fault. I have done everything wrong. Normally when we find a human to change, we give them the choice. Life, for both human and Shadow Walker alike, is about free will. We never force humans and we do not coerce. It is a choice each human must make on their own. I bent the rules because I was selfish and couldn’t watch you die. I know that there is no way for me to right that wrong. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness and promise you that from this moment on I will make sure I do right by you.”
She was struck by the pain evident on the boy’s face. He looked like he was near tears and the shimmer in his eyes caused her throat to tighten. Tears pricked her own eyes and she had to blink quickly to stop them from falling.
A memory flashed to the surface as she looked into his golden eyes. Every part of her body was ice cold except for her cheek where the boy hovering over her had placed his hand. His palm seemed to be radiating warmth that chased away the fear in her heart.
I can offer you life again but it will be at a cost. You will be like me. Do you want me to change you?
His words had focused her mind and when he asked the final question, she had understood him. Somehow, in those moments she had known the weight of what he was offering. Perhaps it was fear at the idea of dying or the allure of the boy coming to her rescue but she found herself deciding what she wanted in a heartbeat. She wanted to live, no matter the cost.
In the present, she looked at Nicky and spoke, her voice tight with emotion. “I remember. I remember what you said and how I felt. I knew, I don’t know how, but I knew the full extent of what you were offering and I wanted it. I made that choice of my own free will. You don’t need my forgiveness because there is nothing to forgive.”
Nicky’s face beamed up at her. “Your heart is too big, my child.”
His delighted expression caused her to impulsively lean over and embrace him and he returned the gesture, squeezing her tightly.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“You keep calling me your child. It’s not that I mind because there is this feeling inside me that you are my father. I just want to understand why I feel that.”
“To understand it, you need to understand where our kind comes from,” he explained, settling back against the lounge and she did the same, giving his words her full attention. “The truth is this world isn’t the only one in existence. Whether you call them alternate dimensions or parallel universes, they exist alongside this world and they are infinite in number.”
“There are all manner of beings that exist in the other worlds. Shape shifters, demons, dragons, fairies; almost all creatures in human mythology can be found in the other worlds. The reason they came to be myths for humans is because they did exist in
this world at one time. There were some that were pulled from their world into ours by accident. And there are some that were cast out of their world.”
“That is where our kind comes from. Our ancestors, who we call the Old Ones, were beings that were exiled from their world. They had been gods in that world but in this world they were monsters. The sun here burnt their flesh and the blood of humans, the only beings that resembled them in appearance and intelligence, ignited a terrible craving inside them. Eventually they discovered that they could change humans by sharing a part of themselves, their blood, with them.”
“And that was how Shadow Walkers were created. When I changed you from human to Shadow Walker, I passed along a part of myself into you, just as a parent does when they create a child. My blood runs through your veins and that is why we have this bond.”
As outlandish as the tale was, it made sense to her. At least as much as anything had made sense since she had woken up here. She could not deny what she had been turned into or what the others in this home were, so believing that they had descended from inter-dimensional travelers seemed almost logical.
“I’m glad you changed me,” she said, smiling gratefully.
“As am I,” he replied. “I’m glad that you are a part of my family now. And I am glad that you did not end your life alone, murdered by a coward in some filthy parking lot.”
She had momentarily forgotten the part that Sampson had played in what happened to her tonight. “I still can’t believe that he ended up killing me.”
Nicky pulled back, his expression grave. “Do you know who did it to you?”
“Yes, his name is Barry Sampson. I work with him. He was angry about something that happened during the day and he wanted to ‘talk’ about it. Evidently ‘talk’ in his mind means spearing my organs.”
Born in the Shadows (In the Shadows Series Book 1) Page 5